In case it does sound familiar, this Boston band’s name is taken from a fictional character, the blonde-haired Soviet boxer Ivan Drago from Rocky IV (1985), starring Slyvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. And in its quest to go back to no frills, back-to-basics punk rock, Drago’s sound recaptures the early ‘80s hardcore punk sound in the vein of Slapshot, SSD, Murphy’s Law, and others, with a humorous, blunt, and in-your-face attitude.
Boston Punk Rock Night
In front of a mostly packed house at the Midway Café in the Boston suburb of Jamaica Plain, hardcore punk rockers Drago headlined a four-band show to celebrate its latest CD, a split EP with hardcore group 007 Hundred Club, from Medford, MA. Opening for Drago were fellow local bands The Doll Eyes, the female-fronted punk rock group The Spoilers, and 007 Hundred Club.
The Drago Show Itself
The new release, titled 007 Hundred Club vs. Drago (Winter Street Records), is a 10-song, 17-minute-long EP split evenly with both bands getting five songs each. And Drago ripped through them all in its 18-song, 35-40 or so minute set Friday night, November 20.
Hardcore punkers love the short songs, and Drago is no different. After starting the set with the (ridiculously short) two-second-long track “Bruce” from the band’s 2007 CD Bowling With Stalin, the group ripped through 17 more considerably longer (two-minute or so) cuts spanning all of its releases.
“Question Me” from first record 90 Miles From Launch To Target from 2005 was next. With machine-gun fast drumming from Eric “Rice” Edmonston and tight rhythms from his wife, guitarist Kristen Edmonston and Bus Stop as bassist, this and other tracks sounded as ferocious live as on record.
The band’s singer, Mike Gurley, also plays bass for and along with Rice is a founding member of the popular Boston punk rockers Darkbuster. Rice is no longer with the band but Gurley still is and will perform with Darkbuster in late December as opening act for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. With his command of the mic, humor and banter with the audience, Gurley looks like a natural front man. What can you say? The man has many talents.
Speaking of banter (or perhaps a real political statement), in keeping with the ‘80s theme of his band, the burly singer wore a “Reagan-Bush ‘84” t-shirt throughout this show, at one point pointing out how the Republican duo won all but one state in the 1984 presidential election.
There were no political statements beyond this however, but plenty of social commentary through music. The hilariously violent anti-vegetarian anthem “Vegan” got the fists pumping at the joint, with a chorus that will surely not amuse the likes of vegetarians like Moby: “Make the world a better place/punch a vegan in the face.” And legendary Fugazi/Minor Threat leader Ian MacKaye gets called out on “Ian MacKaye Is A Douche.” Both tracks appear on Drago’s new split EP.
1980's Flashback: Chief J. Strongbow
Showing a little diversity in a live set never hurts. Drago’s tribute to WWE Hall of Fame wrestler “Chief J. Strongbow,” Gurley’s “hero” in the ‘80s, is slow and ghoulish in between the steady, rockin’ verses, and Gurley manages to make those moments interactive as he (and Kristen) lead the audience into tomahawk chops in honor of the wrestler.
Other highlights in the set include the self-explanatory “Drink Beer And Mosh,” which some fans happily did, as well as the butt-kicking hard rocker “Bloodbath.” Also noteworthy are the fat people-bashing pair of hardcore punk rockers “+ Size Model” and “You Got Fat,” both from Drago’s 2007 CD, and the catchy unreleased show ender and fan favorite, “Elephant Man.”
In all, Drago put a smile on a lot of people’s faces, and looked busy selling CDs after the show as well (including to yours truly). As the band continues to record and play out, more shows like this will surely win over more and more punk rock fans wherever they go.
For album, bio and show info on Drago, visit their Myspace page.
Charlie Doherty - Formerly a staff writer/researcher for independent newspaper project Media Nation, which was published daily by The Boston Globe during ...
